Flame
by Zalein
Summary: Prince Tricky telling about his point of view of the events when he learned his Flame command. A oneshot fluff fic.


Breathing fire. 

It's an ability the entire Royal Earthwalker family is supposed to have.

And yeah, by the way, I'm a part of that family. A prince, actually--Yeah, I know, it's awesome.

There used to be a problem between me and that ability, though. I had no control for it--If I started to try to breath fire, I'd breath and it'd go everyhere but where I wanted it to go, or I'd breath and catch something on fire until I was too scared to keep breathing at all, and I'd hold my breath.

So, of course, what did I do then? I decided to stop breathing fire at all.

Now keep this in mind--I was _really _young at the time. Young enough that after the first two big bushes were burnt down and I stopped breathing fire almost forever, my parents thought it had been a baby's dumb luck that I had set things on fire it at all.

But I wasn't a baby--at least, I didn't feel like one. It wasn't _my_ fault I was so small. My parents, who cares how smart they were, weren't sure how to treat their midget of a son.

After all, how could a small, tiny earthwalker prince with a squawky voice and the unbelievable inability to breath fire actually rule their tribe as carefully as they needed him to? It was impossible, I think they thought. They're probably right--I'm still small, I still talk in that squawky voice, and I still like to play games, and I love my Mom and Dad anyway, even if I'm not as much as I think they were hoping me to be...

Anyway, so I stopped when I was really little. I was just... just too scared of it. I think that's all--that's why when Fox McCloud came, I couldn't do it at first.

Fox McCloud. Man, I admire him--I admire him more than anything else in the whole wide world--and boy, he deserves it.

What? Havn't you heard of the things he's done?

H'oh man, he's really awesome! I hear that before he got to Dinosaur Planet, he had saved the Lylat System several times! I hear that his dad was killed when he was just a boy, but he still grew up to be such a cool guy! And not only that, but he's always going after the guy that killed his dad, even though he probably scares Fox, because that badguy tries to take over the Lylat System or tries to bash things up and do bad things. And Fox is so cool...

Then again, I didn't know any of that stuff when Fox got here. All I knew was that I was a short prince, undersized, underaged, and un-flamable, and that that crazy guy had just driven straight off a cliff into a hotspring while trying to save me from some sharpclaw badguys.

I followed Fox around for a bit... Those were some of the best weeks of my entire life. No, not just 'some of' the best--they were _the_ best. Like, I have never had as much fun as I had when I was with him. He's just... just so cool...

And while I was with him, he really took care me. Sure, I bet I was annoying--I got hungry really easily, while he could just keep moving on. But he fed me.

When we were going from place to place, I'd do anything for him--I'd dig, I'd find things, I'd find my own breakfast (so long as he actually caught it for me), and I'd stand on these wierd switches while he went on ahead. It was fun, being able to help--and I wanted to help, because saving the planet was the right thing to do. And not just that--while helping him, I was getting past old problems that I bet he didn't even know about!

While we were out saving the planet--man it's so cool to say that--I learned to breath fire.

Fox and that snowhorn watching us both probably had no idea how nervous I was--after all, remember what I said had happened last time? I burnt bushes. But those bushes had been right above me, so all I had seen was these scary walls of fire--they burnt me, and I was too scared to run. My mom had to come and put them out, and then get me some white grub-tub mushrooms for the burns I got.  
So I was _really_ scared.

But... With Fox there, I didn't want him to know how nervous I was. So I tried again--after _ages_ of not doing it, I did it again.

And this time, it worked the way I wanted it to. Just a jet of fire--not a boom, not stupid little sparks... It worked right, it worked, IT WORKED, IT WORKED!

I don't think anyone knew how proud I was--I tried not to let anyone know, because that would have been bragging, and nobody likes people who brag. I remember that I'd do my 'flame' command every time Fox asked me to, afterwards, though! I'd do it at a moment's notice, as soon as he showed me what he wanted me to torch. Then I'd flame it, just as easy as that, never again as bad as I did it those first times...

I learned how to breath fire, back when I was traveling with Fox. I learned alot of things--how to survive, how to stay out of the way, how to be strong, how to act cool... But to me, Fire with the biggest thing.

And Fox is coming again to visit Dinosaur Planet, in just a few days. Mom and Dad think I'm cute, the way I can't sit still anymore and run in circles, and play with the ball Fox got me so I wouldn't go crazy from being bored while going from place to place...

Maybe I'm gonna be the King of the Earthwalker tribe, and bash badguys up with my awesome big size someday. I hope I do, because if I was, then I'd be alot like Fox--doing the right thing, and making everything right in the end.

And that's what I wanna do.

Because that's what Fox does, too. Even if he says he only does it for the money, I know him better than that. Fox is good, in a way I can't describe to you, whoever you are--he's good, and he does the right thing because he's good, and he does almost everything he does because he's good.

I hope I can be good, someday, too...


End file.
